Limits
by HawkofNavarre
Summary: She knew she'd always be his...even if she didn't want to be. Levy x Gajeel GaLe
1. Speak the Truth

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail and all its characters are property of Hiro Mashima. I simply like to use them to fulfill my frothing desire to write cheesy romances.

**About the story:** This is the interlude/companion story to my NaLu story _Possession_. It is, however, not necessary to read that one in order to understand this story. Of course, if you're in need of a NaLu fix, you should definitely check it out. _You Stole the Rain _is the Gruvia companion fic in this series, so _Limits_ has heavy ties to it.

**Rated T:** For language and suggestive themes. If you're not 14 or older, your clean minds may be corrupted. This story is also _full_ of guilty pleasures. You have been warned.

**Genres: **ROMANCE, with more drama and angst than the other stories in the series, but the tone isn't too dark.

**Pairings:** LEVY x GAJEEL, but you may see some NaLu and Gruvia.

**Author's Note: **It should be noted that I wrote this months ago and it's probably going to be the shortest story in the series. I feel like Levy and Gajeel already have something in the actual manga, so I'm just building on it. Please enjoy!

Feedback and constructive criticism (except for spelling errors unless they really bother you) are always very much appreciated and valued. Thanks!

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_**Limits**_ by HawkofNavarre

**Chapter 1 – _Speak the Truth_**

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_Is he looking at me?_

Jet and Droy were with her right now, going from booth to booth at the annual Spring Festival, but Levy knew that Gajeel and Juvia weren't too far behind. She knew that if she turned around, she would see him. She knew that if he looked ahead, he would see her.

So…was he looking?

Levy could really care less as to what her two teammates were babbling about. She just wanted to know if the iron dragon slayer couldn't keep his eyes off of her. She hadn't dressed up for nothing, and if all those approaches from various males tonight were a sign of anything, she had to look pretty good. Lucy had helped her put on this new white _furisode_ and styled her hair loose, but all that effort was for nothing if he wasn't looking. This was for him and nobody else.

It was funny how much things had changed from the time the two of them had met. She had once taken a brutal and horrifying beating by his hand and was terrified of him as a result. The blunette hadn't understood what Makarov had seen in such a monster. When he'd saved her from Laxus, though, she finally saw exactly what their master had.

Gajeel was the same as any of them: he was loyal to his guild and loyal to his comrades. His problem had really stemmed from the fact that he'd been in a dark guild. Upon acknowledging this, the solid script mage had had a difficult time continuing to be afraid of him. She gave him a chance, let him in, and they'd had a special sort of connection ever since. A trust that had come so far couldn't possibly have connected them any less.

She never imagined it would turn into this, though. What they shared wasn't just special or different anymore; now, it was almost intimate. It was more intense when they touched and deeper when their eyes met. She could feel it and she knew it was mutual. If it weren't mutual, he never would have touched her when they were alone, or pulled her into his arms. No, they felt the same way, despite the fact that they weren't together.

How long had it been since they'd both felt this way? A year at least, probably more. There were a lot of people that didn't understand why they weren't a couple yet, but they didn't know all the facts. Levy was completely prepared to start a real relationship with him herself; it was Gajeel who was holding back.

The dark-haired male had always been physically responsive, and the blunette had never actually had any doubts that emotionally, he felt the same. That wasn't where the problem lay at all. She was confident in their feelings for each other, but…

He wouldn't let her in.

The matter of trust was a funny thing with Gajeel. He easily left his life in her hands, but when it came to emotions, he shut her out. It was hard to make sense of it when he made it clear that he loved her—never with words, though his eyes and touch said it all. Levy figured that he was simply afraid to leave his heart exposed. It wasn't something he was ready to do.

That was understandable. She'd always understood it. She wasn't going to take more than he was willing to give right now.

…But it had been more than a year and they were still in the same place as they had been then.

It was frustrating, to say the least. The Shadow Gear leader was a rather patient person, but she hated the waiting. How could she not? It was full of insecurities and reassurances. Sometimes she felt like the explanation that he wasn't ready was just a convenient excuse for her to keep chasing after him. Maybe he was waiting for her to give up so that he didn't have to directly break her heart. Maybe he didn't think she was strong enough and that it would be an embarrassment to be seen with her.

Obviously none of those things were true, but it was difficult to keep her mind from wandering after being held at arm's length for so long. Levy was also an avid reader; she'd read plenty of stories where the main character didn't return the feelings of another character and so tried to wait for that person to give up instead of outright rejecting him or her. It was such a common plot device, doing absolutely nothing for her paranoia. There were times when she just couldn't _stand_ feeling like this, but a moment of contact with him always reminded her why it was worth it—why he was worth the wait.

_Gajeel…are you looking?_

The blunette didn't dare look back. If she did, it'd be obvious to see that she was looking only to see if _he_ was looking, even if it was already painfully obvious that she wanted him to be looking. Perhaps not everyone else could tell, but Gajeel certainly would. He would know that this was for him. They didn't need to speak to communicate; words were overrated.

"Levy-chan, let's go get some _takoyaki_!" Jet suggested eagerly, pointing at the booth two stalls away.

She thought for a moment, not really that hungry. "Mm, why don't you two go? I want to look at the jewellery here anyway," Levy answered, gesturing to the booth adjacent to her.

The two males exchanged looks before nodding to each other and heading off to get food. The solid script mage smiled softly at their backs, recalling how they'd both had a crush on her a while back. Now they were both just really good friends (although to her, they always had been). Still, they could be so cute together.

Speaking of which, neither of them were particularly fond of Gajeel, though not because they still hated him for beating them up. No, they could detect that special connection that Levy shared with the dragon slayer and they wanted to protect her from it, and though both Jet and Droy no longer wanted to be her boyfriend, she wasn't sure if this instinct was out of actual concern for her or jealousy.

Well, it didn't matter all that much anyway. Nothing was happening with Gajeel and so they didn't have anyone to protect her from. Which sucked.

Levy tried not to think about it as she approached a table full of bracelets and necklaces. She fingered one bracelet, beaded full with small, creamy pearls. Beautiful…

She winced, however, as she caught the number on the price tag. 300 jewels was an awful lot for just a bracelet, and she could buy a couple of really good books for that amount. The blunette knew she would be fine financially if she splurged just this once, but if she let her will power break this time around, she'd start splurging every time after she wanted something. She'd go after everything she wanted…and that wasn't something she could afford to do—especially because what she wanted most was something that couldn't be bought.

"You want that?"

The solid script mage jumped, startled as she whirled to meet the dark eyes of her favourite dragon slayer. He wore his usual stoic expression and, despite the festival environment, he was also dressed in his regular attire. Gajeel was looking down at her expectantly, and it took her a second to realize that he'd asked her a question.

She blinked, finally remembering to answer. "Oh, um, I-n-no—well, yes…"

"It's either yes or no, midget," he snickered, rolling his eyes. To others, his mannerisms might be considered mean or something of the sort, but Levy knew better. His exterior was rough, but that was all it really was.

"I…wanted it a little bit, I guess. Yeah…" Levy replied, somewhat hesitant in answering. She kind of felt where this was going. A male would normally offer to buy the object the female wanted, but that was between a boyfriend and girlfriend. Gajeel wasn't her boyfriend, so it would be incredibly awkward if he actually bought that bracelet for her. At the same time, it just didn't seem right to lie to him, so she'd spoken the truth. She _did_ sort of want that gorgeous string of pearls.

"So just buy it," he grunted as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

His words caused her to smile. What was she thinking? Gajeel buying her a gift? _Right_.

"Nah, I'll just get a couple good books instead," the blunette responded, unable to keep the upward curves of her lips suppressed.

The dragon slayer's eyes narrowed. "What're you laughing at?"

"Nothing," she giggled in return, quickly trying to change the subject. "Weren't you with Juvia? Why'd you leave her?"

He shrugged and looked slightly embarrassed. Levy swore she saw a hint of red on his cheeks as well, but she chose not to make any speculations about that. It was easy to be wrong about these kinds of things.

"She told me to leave," the dark-haired mage answered gruffly. He was attempting to appear nonchalant and failing miserably. It was really quite amusing.

"Yes, but why? You two are best friends," Levy pressed gently, thoroughly enjoying watching him squirm under her hand. This was a rare opportunity that she was going to take advantage of. Plus, she really _was_ wondering why he'd left Juvia. The water mage was not someone he would just brush off. He told her things.

Things…that he'd never tell Levy.

Any enjoyment she'd had in grilling her friend promptly vanished upon remembering how closed off he was with her. All the solid script mage had asked about was why he left Juvia and he had trouble telling her the truth. Gajeel…he just couldn't bring himself to trust her for some reason. Had she given him any reason not to? If anything, it should be the other way around! She was the one who'd been hurt and scarred to the point of being afraid in her own guild, yet she'd found a way to trust him. She'd put her faith in him.

Why couldn't he just do the same?

"She-she just wanted to go look for the stripper," Gajeel told her, still looking a little stressed in trying to give his companion an answer.

She had to give that he was clever. That was definitely something Juvia would leave Gajeel for, but it didn't mean he was telling the truth; it only meant that now the small female couldn't tell if he was lying or not. She wished she could believe him, but how could she when he refused to open up to her at all?

"If you say so…" Because at that point, she gave up. He wasn't going to tell her the truth? Well, she wasn't going to push him.

There was a bit of an awkward silence after that, for Levy, at least. There was nothing really left to say and her spirits were rather dampened by her own thoughts. She was never going to actually get through to him, was she?

_Don't think like that! You can't! _Levy berated herself mentally. She was generally an optimistic person; the solid script mage didn't want to get all depressed over something that may or may not happen in the _future_. She needed to worry about the moment instead.

"Have you gone to catch goldfish before?" the cheery blunette asked, now feeling a bit mischievous.

He raised an eyebrow at her, as though asking, "Seriously?"

"Don't judge before you've tried!" Levy insisted, taking him by the arm and pulling him over to where the fish-catching stand was located. Despite his reluctance, the dragon slayer did nothing to resist her. That, at least, was sort of nice. As such a small person compared to Gajeel, it was comforting to know that she was one of very few who could receive such compliance from him.

When they reached the booth, the blunette paid the congenial old man running it immediately and grabbed a net, crouching down next to a little girl in front of the mini pool and searching for a fish to capture. She quickly selected a silver fish with black and orange speckles and had her small net around it only seconds later. Levy hurried to put it in a water-filled bag before it suffocated or flopped out of her net, and soon it was safely within a plastic bag, ready to take home.

She beamed at her new, scaly friend. Gajeel looked absolutely bored.

"That lasted thirty seconds," he deadpanned dryly.

"Well, it was thirty seconds of fun!" Levy shot back, flourishing her plastic bag. "Besides, now I've got a new friend!"

However, the solid script mage quickly noticed the little girl she'd been fishing beside having a hard time when the younger female let out a wail of frustration after dropping her net into the water. She looked as though she was about to cry, and she couldn't possibly be any older than five or six.

Levy dropped down to the girl's level, patting the child on the head with a comforting smile. "Hey now, don't be sad. You can have this little guy!" she told the small female, holding up the speckled fish in the bag.

The young girl sniffled and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her white _kimono_. "R-really?"

"Yeah!" the Fairy Tail mage answered with a nod, handing the bag over.

"Thank you!" the child beamed as she took the offering. "You're a nice lady! I'm going to go show my mom!"

As the girl ran off, Levy stood, satisfied with what she'd done. She turned around to see Gajeel staring at her with an indecipherable look that quickly changed into one of amusement. What was so entertaining about her making a kid happy?

"What?" she pushed with a pout.

"You were so happy with that stupid fish and you just gave it away," the dragon slayer explained.

"And…?"

"I thought you wanted it."

"Maybe, but that poor little girl dropped her net into the pool. The fishy's more important to her than it is to me anyway."

"You still wanted one."

The blunette let out a sigh of exasperation. He understood loyalty and kindness, but the latter only to a certain degree. Gajeel was very capable of being kind to others, though he'd do it more unconsciously than anything. Intentional kindness was rather foreign to him, especially if his unintentionalkindness was somehow acknowledged. The iron dragon slayer really just did what he felt was right.

"Well, Gajeel," the solid script mage started, "why don't you go catch a new one for me?"

However, the moment the words left her mouth, Levy knew that that was _exactly_ what he was going to do. His eyes narrowed and that sharp gleam from the corner of the left one. She'd definitely opened a door the black-haired male would go charging through. She'd issued a challenge.

And from the look of things, his response was "_challenge accepted"_.

What _actually_ came out of his mouth was, "Fine." He marched over to the old man and paid the fee to play, snatching a net from the basket holding them while he examined the assortment of coloured fish in the tank. As he approached the side of the tank, the dragon slayer's face grew steely with determination. Levy swore that had he been wearing sleeves, her partner would be rolling them up about now.

It wasn't difficult to catch a little fish, but it appeared to be a different case for Gajeel. The solid script mage noticed that they were particularly good at evading his net or were just steering clear of that general area. At first, it was sort of humorous to watch such a stony man failing at such a menial task, but she began to grow concerned as his frustration elevated. Good things didn't happen when Gajeel lost his temper; in fact, explosions went down when he lost his temper.

_He is really just not good with animals,_ the blunette thought, a nervous smile on her lips as she tugged at her guildie's arm. "Gajeel, that's enough. You're disturbing the other players."

Sure enough, that wasn't a lie. They were on the receiving end of many glares from people who had been splashed by Gajeel's vigorous arm movements on the water.

"Damn fish—why won't you get in the net?" he snarled at the tank, even as Levy dragged him away. She imagined that his ego had taken quite a hit.

"It's not a big deal," She comforted him gently. "I'm happy that you even tried just for me."

The red-eyed male's cheeks took on a nice shade of crimson that the bookworm didn't get to see that often. She was inwardly glad that sweet words had the same effect on him as they did others.

"W-whatever. They're just like the stupid cats," Gajeel muttered stubbornly as he crossed his arms pointedly looking away.

She blinked. "What cats?"

"Nothing!" he seethed in embarrassed rage.

"You just aren't an animal guy. There's no need to be a grump over it," Levy placated him, patting his arm.

"You didn't get your fish," the studded man shot back.

She smiled at him in reassurance. "I have all I need right here."

Red tinted his cheeks for a moment again, eyes only on her for a second before he gazed off in another direction. "You're fucking crazy, woman."

"And you're just mean," Levy countered good-naturedly. She took his wrist this time and began to pull him in the direction of her next destination. "Let's go to the lantern display. I really wanna see it. Please?"

He shot her a dull look.

"Great!" she exclaimed as she walked, her partner following her lead without any struggle whatsoever.

On their way over, Levy passed Lucy and a man that was with her. The blunette waved, but the celestial spirit mage only sent her a pleading look in return. Glancing in that direction for a second, it was fairly obvious that her friend wanted help getting away from that guy. Levy felt a little bad about it, but she didn't get to spend time with Gajeel like this very often, so she had to use it. Lucy was going to have to look for someone else to rescue her today.

_Sorry, Lucy_, the Shadow Gear leader thought, answering back with an apologetic look her fellow book-lover's way.

Levy quickly walked into the entrance of the lantern display, taking a much larger dragon slayer with her. Her eyes lit up when she took in her surroundings. A frame of wood had been built in a wide circular arc to make the display like a room. A variety of lanterns were lit and attached to the frame, creating an orange-y glow beneath the dark, starlit sky.

"Wow…" the solid script mage breathed in awe. It was absolutely beautiful. It was all she could do to take in the vision as she involuntarily lean back into Gajeel, her head against his chest while his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

Suddenly, it wasn't about where she was and how pretty it was anymore. Now it was about how close she was to Gajeel and how he was holding her. The moment was bittersweet; there was no denying the warmth and bliss she felt being in his arms (or arm, in this case), but how real was it all? They weren't a couple and they weren't dating. They couldn't just be friends when they'd been doing this dance for so long. But then…when was it going to end?

"Gajeel, what are we doing?" she asked, pulling away to look up at him. Right away, she knew this was a mistake. If there was something the dark-haired dragon slayer despised as much as a traitor, it was talking about his feelings. Nevertheless, there was no going back now.

"I thought we understood each other," he grunted uncomfortably.

"I understand that you want me to wait for you forever," Levy countered, her heart throbbing painfully. She couldn't believe she was doing this. She hadn't thought that she'd ever push Gajeel, but here she was. She was sick of constantly wondering if something was going to happen, or if she was the only one in whatever kind of relationship this was. She didn't want to be stuck in that place anymore. Maybe she hadn't thought this through and maybe it wasn't the right thing to do, but at least something was finally happening.

When Gajeel didn't reply, the blunette spoke again. It was time to make herself clear. "I can't keep doing this, Gajeel," she told him, swallowing her fear. "I can't keep being the only one in this. I need you to trust me the way I've trusted you. I've given you time. I've given you forgiveness. I've given you my _heart_, Gajeel, and somehow, all of it isn't enough."

"Don't…do this," he spoke so quietly that it was barely audible. She could see the hurt in his eyes and she could hear the "please" hanging over the end of his statement. But Gajeel didn't plead. He didn't beg, and neither did he give up.

Her eyes burned, but Levy refused to let her tears fall. She wanted to be happy. _This_ was not happy. This was settling when she knew she deserved more. Today, she was standing her ground. She didn't want to wait anymore, and maybe what she'd just set in motion would have a devastating result, but at least she'd be able to do _something_.

"I love you, Gajeel," she bit out, the words she'd never told him before bitter on her tongue, "but sometimes, that's not enough. Today, it's not enough for me."

She stepped forward and placed her hand on his cheek, observing the pain etched in his face. Her heart filled with sadness because she knew this was her doing, but she couldn't stop. She needed this. _He_ needed this.

"All I'm asking is for you to try."

She held his gaze for a moment, asking him to understand and just begging him to challenge his fears. With nothing more to say, she got on her tip-toes to kiss his other cheek before turning and starting to make her way home.

Levy let her tears fall this time. She didn't need to keep a strong face for anyone anymore. She was proud of what she'd done, even though she was both shaken and frightened. Still, none of that mattered right now. None of it. Because finally, she was moving forward.


	2. In the Mirror

**Author's Note: **...well, it's only been 6 months. That's a short period of time! Yeah okay, enough of my crap. That is why I'm not supposed to be writing three stories at the same time and I did. And then school and work happened and everything, but at least I came back for you! This chapter's been lying around in my notebook for quite a while now, and I've finally finished chapter 3, so here you go. If anything, I guarantee the next update won't take as long.

So I'm sure a lot of you know I have a tumblr I post previews of chapters on. Recently, I decided that I would be posting those previews on my facebook page (found on through my profile or through my tumblr) instead, so you can find those there now. You can also write stuff on the wall and chat with me/each other. Do whatever you please. Anyhow, I just thought I'd let you guys know.

This is my first time really writing Gajeel, so take it easy on me, will ya? :)

Happy reading!

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**_Limits_ **by HawkofNavarre

**Chapter 2 -_ In the Mirror_**

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He hadn't stayed long after the event. The iron dragon slayer had felt it was absolutely pointless to buy a stupid date with a girl. Admittedly, he had been watching Levy from the back of the room as she strutted down the catwalk in an outfit that made his mind go to very unsavoury places, but he hadn't bid on her. It seemed like such a foolish prospect to waste his hard-earned money on something like a date auction when she was already his.

Okay, well, not his, exactly... While Gajeel still managed to hold a conversation with her (at least _his_ definition of a conversation) from time to time, the tension between them had definitely grown since the Spring Festival and they were only getting further apart. Honestly, her demands had irritated him, mostly because Gajeel had been perfectly content with what kind of relationship they shared. He'd really thought that they'd been good where they were, and the male had thought Levy shared the sentiment. Apparently not. Had she really been holding back her emotions for that long?

"Girls, so stupid," Gajeel mumbled, sprawling back against his couch and putting a hand to his face.

"You're just a coward," his Exceed companion remarked casually as he hopped onto the seat next to the dragon slayer, "which is a shame. I thought you were better than that."

"_Excuse me?_" the dragon slayer hissed. He thrust his face in front of Pantherlily's. "I _ain't_ a coward."

"I've seen it all, Gajeel, and you're a coward," replied the small feline.

"You're afraid of vulnerability because people have always taken advantage of you in the past. That's why you won't let the solid script girl get any closer," the magical being explained calmly.

Growling, Gajeel let up on his friend and fell back against the cushions, mostly because Pantherlily was right—_not_ about being a coward (of course not. He was most certainly, definitely, absolutely not a coward), but about vulnerability. He didn't like to let people in, it was true. Fairy Tail had become like a family to him, maybe, and they were leagues better than Phantom Lord would ever be, but it was impossible to say that the entire guild knew him that well. They knew what he let them know. Only Juvia and Pantherlily were really aware of what was beneath that, and while the feline was just good at read him, speaking candidly with Juvia was just easy. She understood vulnerability to the same extent he did and she was always reliable, looking out for him even if it was unnecessary. The only difference was that she had always left herself exposed, which really hadn't made much sense to the iron dragon slayer. Used, cheated on and discarded all the time... He wondered how she even managed to trust again.

His thoughts abruptly turned to a certain ice mage. Gajeel didn't know how, but that guy had somehow stopped the rain that had always plagued his best friend. Gray was obviously not good enough for Juvia, but she had given her heart to him, so the dragon slayer really couldn't do much when that happened. He could, however, bash that stripper's head in if he ever broke Juvia the way so many others had.

A knock on the door pulled him out of his reverie as Pantherlily shot the dragon slayer a look that clearly said "you don't like feeling vulnerable; admit it and get over it" before he walked into the next room to go to sleep. Gajeel simply glared at his friend's back for a good second, then got up to go answer the door. If it were anything like he was hoping for—maybe it was Levy coming over to apologize because she was being unreasonable—then tonight wouldn't be so crappy. Natsu had already shown up every male during the auction though, so maybe this was just wishful thinking. Hell, it might have upset Levy that Gajeel hadn't bid on her.

However, the female on the other side of the door was a different blue-haired one. It was his best friend standing there, wringing her hands anxiously. She had changed out of the dress she'd been wearing during the auction and was now clad in her usual, more conservative outfit. He wondered why the hell she was at his door tonight, but didn't turn her away. Instead, he placed a large hand on her hat, ruffling her hair as he pulled her past the threshold. Juvia stumbled in, blushing while she fixed her hair and situated herself on the couch. The dragon slayer quickly shut the door and splayed out next to her.

He didn't ask her what was wrong. He never did. This was really how they'd become such close friends in the first place. She would talk and he would listen, sometimes feeling inclined to add input of his own because he wanted to help her. Yeah, it would be a damn cold day in Hell before he ever admitted that, but it was the truth. For someone who had never given up on him, Gajeel was willing to give that much in return.

"Gray-sama—Gray-_kun_," she corrected herself hastily, "Gray-kun didn't bid for Juvia."

The iron mage almost choked on his own saliva at her words. Oh, this again? Jeez, this damn fundraiser just wouldn't leave him alone! Why the hell was this so important to women? It was a damn date! One freaking night! What was the damn deal?

"I thought you didn't care," Gajeel replied, unamused.

"Juvia always cares!" she huffed indignantly. "Juvia had simply thought that Gray-kun was..."

"What?"

He watched her face go red and her eyes go starry. "Juvia thought she would be swept away by his magnificent love!"

Oh Edolas, she did _not_ just say that. How the hell was this grown woman, who was acting like a school girl swooning over the most popular boy in her class, his best friend?

"Come back to Earthland," the dragon slayer muttered, immediately bringing the water mage down from her high. "You're just getting your hopes up. And don't be stupid; just cuz he didn't want to spend his jewels buying a date with you doesn't mean he doesn't like you."

"Juvia _is_ getting her hopes up...but it is nice to feel special sometimes," she sighed, appearing to fall into fantasy once more.

"So girls want us to blow our cash on some stupid auction so they can 'feel special sometimes'?" Gajeel clarified with a sneer.

"Don't be so insensitive, Gajeel-kun," she berated him, undeterred by his unsupportive mannerisms. "You would not be so happy if the one you loved never showed her feelings."

"That's stupid."

"It's a heartfelt gesture!"

"A stupid one."

She glared at him, that glare she gave him whenever he challenged her beliefs. It didn't intimidate him in the slightest. Honestly, though, he had no idea what she was going on about. _Heartfelt_ stuff...seriously, what was that even?

"I don't see the big deal, alright? It's just a damn date," he expressed in frustration. Females didn't make any sense at all!

Juvia puffed her cheeks out at him, eyes narrow. "Boys are stupid."

"People shouldn't _need_ some ridiculous gesture to show how much they care," the dragon slayer continued angrily. He hated that there was just this expectation to be chivalrous and to be this type of guy that catered to a woman's imagination. People didn't even seem to really care about emotions. It was always about flaunting what you had and shallow acts. It was disgusting.

He would die before telling anyone how deeply he felt for Levy. Maybe it was Natsu's influence, but he'd definitely had some moments where he'd declared his feelings for the bonds of his guild and that was already pretty shameful. Thinking about those times made him want to curl up in a fetal position for hours on end. He wasn't that touchy-feely guy, so the idea of anyone seeing him like that? Yeah, not the most wonderful thing in the world. It was a good thing nobody ever brought those times up. It was a good thing his guild actually _respected_ him enough not to coo over his stinkin' emotions.

Jeez, that stuff was already embarrassing enough. If he ever exposed the extent of his love for Levy in front of other people, Gajeel was pretty sure he was going to have to become a hermit and live in a mountain cave. He just wouldn't be able to handle it.

"Gajeel-kun simply does not understand," Juvia argued, shaking her head. "If Levy-san—"

The male did his best not to react to the sound of her name, but he was seriously getting pretty irritated with the issues to do with her. He briefly wondered why the water mage was bringing her up as Juvia paused, looking sharply at her friend. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head, back-tracking to the events earlier that night.

"Gajeel-kun...did not bid on Levy-san," she concluded after another few seconds.

"So what if I didn't?" the iron dragon slayer demanded defensively.

Juvia only crossed her arms and looked angrier. "Boys are very, _very_ stupid!"

Damn it, Natsu was the one who should be getting this sort of treatment! The iron dragon slayer couldn't even believe his intelligence was being undermined this much.

"I thought Gajeel-kun was better than Juvia's love rival, Natsu!"

This time, Gajeel got to his feet in outright protest. Now she was actually _comparing_ him to that moron? No. No, no, no, no! "Do _not_ put me in the same league as that idiot!" he snarled in outrage. He was not even close to as dumb as the King of Obliviousness. How the hell had that guy managed to upstage both him _and_ Gray? By doing this, the fire mage had broken the unspoken code between men. Gajeel wouldn't care so much if he weren't getting flak from it, but now his best friend was giving him that seething look of disapproval and he was pretty sure that all of this way past tolerable by now.

Natsu was going to die before he ever got to his date tomorrow.

"Juvia is fully aware of Gajeel-kun's feelings, but I also know of Levy-san's feelings. Waiting will hurt her, Gajeel-kun," she told him sternly.

"What the hell are you going on about?" he shot back in actual confusion.

She smacked the couch on either side of her legs as she let out a whine of exasperation, a little steam rising off her body before it vanished into the air. "Stupid Gajeel-kun! She is giving you everything and you are refusing to give anything back!"

He blinked at her, not really knowing what to say though anger was still coursing through his veins. What did she mean he was "refusing to give anything back"? The dragon slayer had given Levy _all_ his emotions. Even though she was his sole-chosen mate, he hadn't needed to give her anything unless he wanted to, and he had. Wasn't that enough? He was giving her everything he had to offer!

"It's not all about intimacy, Gajeel-kun," Juvia informed him, apparently sensing his confusion. "You give her your feelings, but close off everything else. How much does she really know about you? How much do you _let_ her know about you?"

The male bit back a retort, knowing that arguing with his long-time friend was pointless, especially when what she was saying was right on the spot. Levy was upset with him because he kept secrets—the kind that maybe she was supposed to know. Yes, he trusted her with his life, but he had been used enough to want to keep anyone out. Juvia had wriggled her way beneath that barrier with time; with Levy, he had been more careful. His relationship with her already went too deep and thinking about how utterly exposed he would be if he let her in just made him uncomfortable beyond belief. Letting somebody that close to him...

"Gajeel-kun, you are going to lose her," the water mage warned him, dead seriousness in her eyes.

"I know! I am fucking trying, okay?" he hissed furiously, although he wasn't exactly certain on how much he was trying. He felt bad enough with all this pressure. He didn't need it from his best friend too.

Her expression softened considerably, head dropping a little. "Juvia is sorry. I simply want what is best for Gajeel-kun."

She was backing off. Of course his guild mate knew when he'd had enough. She'd always been good at stopping when she saw he was getting to his limit, and like always, he appreciated it. "It's fine. I get it. Now go back to whatever the hell you came here for in the first place."

"...Does Gajeel-kun think Juvia is foolish for hoping?"

The iron dragon slayer glanced at his companion, the water mage fidgeting with her hands and looking rather downcast. While it was rare for people to be able to read him, it was always easy to read Juvia. She wore her heart on her sleeve and left her emotions open for whoever bothered to look, so noticing that she felt sad and discouraged was not a difficult task. It was weird to see her this way though, because even a girl who was absolutely dead-set on standing behind her man needed some reassurance that he was going to come around.

"Where's this coming from?" he asked, raising and eyebrow.

"Gajeel-kun must have heard of who bought Juvia tonight," she replied shyly as she flushed modestly.

He looked to the ceiling, thinking back for a moment. What could he remember? He'd been staring at Levy most of the night, though he wasn't about to say that out loud. They'd had a pretty nice chat earlier, despite her lingering demands of him. The solid script mage hadn't acted like she was expecting anything from him today either. Why couldn't things just stay like that? Didn't she realize what she was screwing up?

Augh, what was he supposed to be thinking about again? Oh, right, who bought Juvia? Obviously it hadn't been Gray, who had been equally as shafted by Natsu's dick move of purchasing a date with Lucy as Gajeel had. It was another ice guy that had bought her, right? That guy from Lamia Scale?

"Was it the stripper from Lamia Scale?" Gajeel guessed, quietly hoping he was right.

Juvia nodded miserably and buried her face in her hands. "Juvia does not know what to do! Lyon-sama will not give up on Juvia, even when he knows that Juvia's heart belongs to Gray-kun!"

She brought her knees to her chest, curling up on his couch. "That...that is why I wonder if I am a fool for having hope," the blunette explained quietly. "Juvia knows that she will never love Lyon-sama the way he loves her because I love Gray-kun in that way, but..."

"I see," Gajeel responded. It was clear what she was talking about. Although Gray was never very receptive to Juvia's advances, she hadn't given up, just like Lyon hadn't given up on her. Even without her saying it, Gajeel could tell that there was absolutely no hope for the Lamia Scale mage. For as long as he'd known her, a cloud of rain had followed her. Gray was the one who had dispersed that cloud and the iron dragon slayer knew what that mean to Juvia. There was nobody else. Nobody.

He hated that he knew that feeling.

Fortunately, the ice mage his best friend so desired seemed to be having some sort of change of heart. Things hadn't been moving between those two at all and thus their relationship and generally been the same since she'd been accepted into the guild; however, Juvia did not get her hopes up over nothing. Gajeel could detect that some things had gone on behind the scenes that his friend had neglected to mention to him (not that he minded. He had no intention of ever becoming Juvia's best _girlfriend_). Besides that, judging by how the stupid ice-maker had reacted earlier when he'd found out Lyon had won a date with Juvia, something had definitely changed. Gray had looked like he was ready to start the biggest beef of his life. Gajeel briefly wondered whether or not the guy felt like his image had been spat on by Natsu by the end of the night as well, seeing as Juvia was here full of disappointment.

Hm, maybe they could beat up Natsu together tomorrow. Gajeel was happy to refrain from bashing Gray's skull in until after Natsu was lying on the floor in pain. Then he would gladly take revenge for the ice-maker inadvertently causing Juvia to feel like this.

"You're sure about how you feel. If anything, you're the one who has her shit together," he told her as she peeked at him tiredly. "Don't feel stupid for wanting what you want."

She offered him a weak smile, one cheek pressed against her knees. "Thank you, Gajeel-kun. Juvia just...just cannot handle it all the time."

He didn't reply, letting her quietly regain her strength and confidence. Juvia was a resilient woman, but even she had days when she felt insecure and full of hopelessness. He could already tell that she was worried about how tomorrow was going to turn out. Lyon had won her in the silent auction, fair and square. That meant he would be able to take her out wherever he wanted, say whatever kind of weird, sappy, romantic crap he wanted to say, and make as many moves on her as he wanted to make, no matter how uncomfortable it made Juvia feel. The dragon slayer didn't know too much about the guy from Lamia Scale, but hopefully the man would be respectful enough not to do something that would really upset her. Of course, if that happened, Gajeel always had another spot on his hit-list open.

And _Gray._ That man wasn't helping at all. There was confusion written all over that idiot.

Gajeel sighed as he got to his feet. Juvia was not tucked in a little ball against the armrest of his couch, eyes growing heavy. It wasn't the first time something like this had taken place. It was always late at night when she came to seek emotional support before he..._comforted_ her and she became drowsy from her battles against her inner turmoil. Still, it didn't happen that often, so the iron dragon slayer was fine with it. As long as he could count the times on one hand each year, he wasn't going to complain. After all, he could have a worse best friend.

"So what's with this whole 'Gray-kun' thing?" he enquired while he opened a closet, rummaging through a few objects to get to his clean blankets.

"Gray-kun insisted," she mumbled absently. Her hat tumbled to the floor as she burrowed further into his couch. "Gray-kun said he wanted to be treated the same as Gajeel-kun."

The male snorted derisively, stalking back over to the couch with a navy blanket in tow and laying it over the petite figure of his guild mate. So the man was finally making an effort? It was the first step in him actually getting to know who she was, unless it meant he wanted to be friend-zoned. Either way, Juvia was one step closer to being happy.

"...Talk to Levy-san, Gajeel-kun..." Juvia murmured against the cushions, to which the dragon slayer gave a firm grunt. "Good night..."

He leaned back against the doorframe and flicked off the light. "Night."

Crossing his arms, he remained there for a bit, staring out the window into the dim lights of the night. Juvia's breathing was soft as he contemplated everything that was going on. How could he feel so angry at Gray when what was happening with Levy was so similar? The only difference was that Gajeel _knew_ what he felt for Levy and he still couldn't give her what she wanted.

The night of the festival had felt so much like any other night they had spent time alone together. It was so calming and so easy. He hadn't expected the words she had given him that night, nor had he expected that pain in her eyes.

Above all, though, he had never expected that pain to pierce his heart so deeply.

He didn't want to see that kind of hurt in her eyes ever again. Knowing that he'd been the one to inflict it on her was the worst part. It was a horrible reminder of the past. What he'd done to hurt her was different this time, but he didn't care that it was. She...was waiting for him, or she _had_ been waiting for him if she wasn't anymore. For some reason, Gajeel had failed to realize this himself. Eventually, he had just figured that their relationship was going to stay in the same old comfortable place it had always been, even while it was fairly obvious that Levy wanted to be a real couple. He had held her hand a few times, kept her in his arms as often as he could without the rest of the guild observing, but they had never done anything truly intimate. To do that would be to truly let her in.

He'd accepted a long time ago that Levy was probably going to break all his barriers by herself someday, but she'd turned the tables on him. She'd told him that she loved him and that what was between them wasn't always enough. She didn't want to have to find ways to knock down walls he'd put up and it wasn't just a matter of patience. She was asking him to be the one to remove all those obstacles instead of her trying to work them out like every time before. She was asking him...to be a part of this relationship.

It wasn't until now, when he was looking at Juvia, that he realized to what degree his idiocy had extended. Juvia had the strongest resolve when it came to matters of the heart, and today, she'd been doubting herself. The dragon slayer considered how long it had been that he'd been in this sort of relationship with Levy and it was shameful to admit that it'd been over a year already. If the water mage felt like this from time to time, how often had Levy felt that frightened uncertainty?

Quietly, Gajeel closed the door and retreated to his room. Stripping off his shirt and pants, he slid into the futon where Pantherlily was already fast asleep at the end of. Somehow, he had to get through this. What Levy was asking for was, he admitted (albeit grudgingly) actually not unreasonable. She was the one that had always held them together until now. It was his turn to do something. He _had_ to do something.

He...had to do something. That look in her eyes days ago when she had told him she loved him...Gajeel never wanted to see it again. She wasn't someone who should ever cry. She was supposed to smile and laugh and say really intelligent things that he sometimes didn't understand. She wasn't supposed to look sad and hurt and broken.

He had to try, because of all the things he'd ever known, there was one thing he'd never been more certain of: she was worth absolutely everything.


End file.
